With the Clouds Beneath Us

This summer I was lucky enough to travel to Bhutan as part of a project I did in grad school on open government and the right to information. For many of us, Bhutan is tough to get to know--its remote location in the Himalayas and the expense of traveling there put it out of reach for a lot of people.

If people know anything about Bhutan, it's that the country measures its success by its level of happiness rather than the growth of its economic numbers. But after meeting and talking with lots of young Bhutanese, it quickly became clear that things are not so simple. This short film is an attempt to look at life through their eyes.

I've always liked photography but just started to play around with filmmaking this year after one of my professors, who also doubles as a videojournalist, insisted that I give it a shot. Now I'm hooked. Being able to catch a flicker of a smile, a hint of emotion, or a dream in someone's eye and make it permanent through film is an exhilarating feeling.

I want to keep improving my film skills and I'd be thrilled if I'm able to spread the beauty of the world with the help of this scholarship--I'm just grateful for and the opportunity.